1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vehicle mud flaps and particularly to mud flap hangers carried within a flexible bushing to permit pivotal movement thereof, and help prevent vibration causing metal fatigue and subsequent breakage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mud flaps are currently in use on most all vehicles such as truck tractors or trailers for intercepting mud, gravel, water, etc. The use of mud flaps avoids damage to following vehicles and to pedestrians who may be in close proximity to the passage of trucks or trailers. The mud flaps are generally fixed to the frame of a truck or tractor behind their respective wheels. The mud flaps are generally constructed from a thick, resilient material such as plastic or rubber. Although mud flaps are optional on a tractor when a trailer is attached to the tractor, it is necessary and, in all cases, required by law that a tractor not carrying a trailer be equipped with mud flaps. Since most moving tractors are normally pulling a trailer, mud flaps fixed behind the wheels of the tractor can be seriously damaged. It is, therefore, advantageous to have mud flaps which can be readily removed from behind the tractor wheels when a trailer is being pulled. In most cases, the mud flaps cannot be readily removed because of mud and other road debris which makes the removal of the mud flaps somewhat difficult. To avoid damage to the mud flaps and to facilitate positioning of the mud flaps so that damage will not be caused to them, several types of mud flap assemblies have been proposed such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,901. Other patents showing various other types of mud flap hangers can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,640,714; 3,746,366 and 4,007,944.